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Hi ladies and gentlemen! I'm totally new here and a complete amatuer when it comes to taking care of my fly traps (I've had 3 die on me in 3 years - no on 3rd replacement) - but I do love them and are determined to keep this one alive through the harsh english winter! I've been reading the forums and your posts have taught me a vast amount already - but now i need some advice...

My Venus Fly Trap was very healthy - even mondo healthy up until 2 months ago - when leaves started turning black. I thought that it may be to do with the poor amount of sunlight and the absence of food at this time of year. So I bought a lamp (a plant growing one) and set it up - on for about 9 hurs a day - but now the flytrap has grown 3 massive stalks!!! But the leaves and traps are getting smaller and smaller - in fact they are so small they really wouldn't catch anything and the existing traps are all going black!

Is the plant using all it's energy to grow stalks and not pods? Why would it do this? Is it kind of jettisoning away from the area and looking for a new patch of soil?

Welcome to the forums. Well your VFT is fine. It is just flowering and it is putting all it's energy to the stalks. If you want seed (which I assume you don't) clip the stalks down as close as possible to the plant. Now wait for a while and larger traps and a healthier plant will reappear. You've done fine so far and I congratulate you. Good luck and look forward to a nice plant!
Nep.G.

I've just read on a site that I really shouldn't let the fly trap flower as it uses all it's energy and will probably die! As mine is growing 3 stalks maybe I should cut a couple back? What do you usually do?

This is called dormancy, and you tipped off on a reason for it. Less light, virtually no food in the winter, so why grow traps? The Venus flytrap and most north american CP's are genetically encoded to 'go to sleep' in the winter. Your flytrap tried to do this, but by providing it with light, you snapped it out. It sounds like this was done recently, if so, that is great, because it's time to wake up any how.

Thid fall however, you definately want to make sure your flytrap gets dormancy! It will need it, especially if it did not get one this year!

OK, on the flower stalks, cut back every single one of them. Use as sharp a cutting instrument as possible, do not pinch, this damages the plant. flytrap roots are very delicate, and the pinching manuver can actually damage them, as it invariably involves some twisting and tugging... so CUT! Every one of them! Your trap will be happier for it!

neat little trick you might want to try later this year when it's nice outside... leave a sardine or a piece of fish out on a plate, let it get nice and rank so flies are all over the place, and then put your flytrap out right next to it for the day... it will have a nice little feast. And the nutrients it will get for it will help counteract the flowering.

(I am going to do this with my big planter this year, gonna throw a fishy right in the middle of all those flytraps!)